Swollen Fingers in the Morning

Getting out of the bed should be with a feel of relaxation and restfulness. But, sometimes, we don’t get enough sleep at night, sometimes our position is not as comfortable as we make some strange positions when we fall asleep. Sometimes, this can be a discomfort in a form of swollen fingers in the morning. This can happen to all of us and can be a consequence of many reasons, but some of them can be a serious problem, so it is good to be well informed to know how to recognize it.

Posture While Sleeping

Maybe the most common cause of this condition is the wrong posture while sleeping where you can bend your arm in a wrong way and prevent the circulation from flowing the right way, where this can lead to puffiness in that area, but this is a short-term state where it subsides in a few minutes, especially if you raise your arm above your heart line and massage it for a few minutes to stimulate the circulation.

Dehydration

When the body suffers from a lack of water, it tries to save all the available liquids in the system, to keep it from loss and to prevent the vital organs from damage. This can lead to water retention where it looks like your body has more water, but instead, your body suffers from dehydration and it is crucial to act on the source, than on the result of this situation. The most important thing here is to increase water intake where in some moment, the body will start to release the excess water out when it realizes the quantity is good enough. Another way is to try to use some diuretics, but it has a risk of loss of potassium, so your doctor should be vigilant when it comes to diuretic consumption.

Kidney Failure

Kidneys are one of the most important organs when it comes to water regulation. The kidneys have the responsibility to keep the right amount of liquids where they absorb all the necessary water in the tubule section with all the electrolytes and to excrete the toxins and excessive metabolism material. When it comes to kidney insufficiency, the kidneys fail to convey their role and the consequence is water retention in the body, where it can lead to ankle swelling and retention of the water in the whole body, where the most important symptom here is oliguria, which is a production of abnormally small amount of urine, under 500ml per day. This is important to recognize and to see a doctor if something like this happens.

High-Level Salt Diet

It is well known that the salt affects the water retention in the body, so when you eat a lot of salty and spicy food, it can lead to swollenness of the fingers, knuckles and you can experience fingers and legs edema in the body. The therapy here is regulation of the salt intake and good diet with low sodium levels. Moderation is the cure.

Arthritis

Arthritis is the illness of the joints where swollenness can occur in two reasons. The first one is edema of the synovium, which is the lining of the joint, due to inflammation and the second one is because of the increased water inside the joint, called synovial fluid. This is an active process where the inflammation cells activate the blood circulation leading to a specific reaction of increased vessel permeability. The joints can be painful and stiff in the morning. Usually, people deal with this with an ice application on the affected region or use some over-the-counter meds for pain relief like acetaminophen, aspirin or ibuprofen.

Swelling During Pregnancy

During pregnancy, the body produces 50% more water in the body to meet the babies’ needs. It is normal and it can lead to swelling feet, arms, face, legs and ankles. This is mostly emphasized in the third trimester of the pregnancy, after the fifth month. So, there are some things that you should avoid, like salty food, standing for a long period of time, tight clothes, etc. You should drink a lot of water, rest with elevated legs, swim, wear comfortable shoes.

Trauma And Other Injuries

So, as expected, trauma causes tissue inflammation, leading to vessel permeability denivelation, where the blood and inflammation cells run to the affected area, which increases the tissue volume and it becomes swollen, red, inflamed and painful. This can happen also with insect bites and some allergic reactions.

Gout

This is a disease that is a consequence of uric acid accumulation in the joints due to its excessive amount in the body. Uric acid builds up in joint fluid, making crystals inside which can cause inflammation and pain. Usually, it hits the big toe but can also affect ankles, wrists, heels, elbows, etc. It is associated with an excessive meat consumption and it used to be called “the rich man’s disease, the disease of kings”. It runs in families and the treatment is using meds like corticosteroids, drugs to level the uric acid, pain relievers, and other drugs to stop inflammation.

So, there are a lot of symptoms, some of them are normal, some are not, but the most important thing is that these symptoms of swollenness should go away with some exercise and water intake, after a few minutes or hours. Sleep long enough and remove all your makeup before bed. Reduce smoking and alcohol abuse because it causes dehydration. The last thing, use ice in paper towels to instantly cool down and reduce edema in this area with vessel constriction effect due to cold temperature.